Fund application deadline:  17 June 2024 

Pearson Higher Education Qualifications are delighted to be able to support our Pearson Approved Centres, providers on the OfS register and Higher Education Institutes, based in England, who are planning to deliver Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) qualifications and who wish to apply for the Higher Technical Education (HTE) Skills Injection Fund 3 - 2024. 

The aim of the Fund is to support providers to grow their Higher Technical Qualification offer. 

The HTE Skills Injection Fund 3, with a total budget of £10.3 million of capital funding, is intended to support providers to deliver high quality HTQs in academic year 2025-2026. The fund is to be spent on specialist equipment and perpetual software licence costs. The construction of new buildings is not permitted although refurbishing existing premises is. We are committed to supporting the growth of high-quality provision via Higher Technical Qualifications and can offer a wide range of qualifications and other support to those providers who wish to engage with the bid. 

A range of Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals have been awarded the HTQ Quality Mark by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), in the following sectors: 
Construction
Creative and Design
  • BTEC Higher National Certificate in Photography for England – specification available soon 
Early Years
  • BTEC Higher National Diploma in Early Years Professional Leadership for England – specification available soon 
Engineering

Eligibility

The HTE Skills Injection Fund 3 is open to applications from eligible organisations, based in England, including: 

  • Institutes of Technology (IoTs) 
  • Further Education Colleges 
  • Higher Education Providers 
  • Independent Training Providers 
  • Consortia 

To be eligible, at the point of application, providers must have received an Ofsted rating of ‘requires improvement’ or better, or be registered with the Office for Students; and have received a financial grading of ‘good’ or better. All providers within an IoT application are exempt from these eligibility criteria. 

To apply for the funding, you must

1. Meet the eligibility criteria. 

2. Provide data on predicted learner numbers, explain how you have arrived at those numbers, and clearly justify any growth in your numbers. 

3. Outline how you plan to support learners to build up their learning more easily to qualifications at levels 4, 5 and 6 throughout their lives, showing the availability of progression routes into higher-level learning or employment. 

4. Provide supporting evidence on how the funding will build capacity and improve the quality of provision. 

5. Include information on: 

  • why you are projecting those learner numbers 
  • how you intend to spend the funding 
  • how the funding will help build capacity and improve the quality of provision 
  • which specific groups or individuals will benefit from the funding. 

How Pearson can support your application

If you are planning to deliver Higher Technical Qualifications in the occupational areas listed above we can support your application to the Skills Injection Fund by providing subject specific guidance.  Our team of specialist Subject Leads have developed Higher Technical Qualifications to meet the specific requirements of a range of occupational standards. 

We can also assist you in determining what your Resource offer might look like, with a focus on your approach to: 

  • Supporting and upskilling teaching and technical staff via our extensive training offer 
  • Supporting curriculum planning and development via access to a team of dedicated higher education curriculum design and teaching experts. 

If you would like to discuss how we can support you with your bid please get in contact with us at highernationals@pearson.com.

If you are a Higher Education Institute that would like to deliver a Pearson Higher Technical Qualification, under an Intellectual Property (IP) Higher National Licence Agreement, please contact stuart.abrahamson@pearson.com.

Want to get involved in the development of future Higher Technical Qualifications or commission a Higher Technical Qualification, powered by a Pearson BTEC Higher National? Find out more about the Pearson BTEC Higher National Custom Design service by contacting marianne.henden@pearson.com.

Submitting your application

Complete the higher technical education skills injection fund 3 application form and email the form to team.highertechnicaleducation@education.gov.uk with the subject line as: ‘Skills Injection Fund 3: (Lead or Provider Name)’. Bids must be submitted no later than Monday 17 June 2024, 11:59pm.

Bid application form